Management theories and tools, like the fashion industry have their moment of glory and die. Very few survive and, in some cases, their passing leaves extensive corporate damage in their wake. Spyros Makridakis reviews the large number of theories that briefly blossomed from the 1960s onwards, and also looks to see if prescriptions can be learned from examples of 'excellent' companies. He advises against extrapolating from past success stories since the environment continually changes.